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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. club — for golf
  5. spell — letters
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. club — a group
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bear — the animal
  11. club — for dancing
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — child
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — a city
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — to come down
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. spell — magic
  22. land — ground
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com